It's kind of like a form of socially acceptable insanity."
- Amy, Her
This is a breakdown of the types of RVs and RVers in our experience only. It isn’t meant to offend or resemble anyone. Most RVers will probably chuckle (or at least I hope) at our descriptions. Some may not. Some probably have better stories. This is merely our opinion and we’re sticking to it.😉
The RV community is a melting pot of people. It is a community that is generally a very friendly, supportive group. We all have common interests…travel, minimalism, adventure, and of course the great outdoors. Our experience with RVers has been overwhelmingly positive. When our motorhome caught fire, one of the couples we’d recently met took us in and offered their camper bedroom for a night until we found other arrangements. They also helped us salvage what we could from the mess. Most RVers we’ve met are that way, but there is a pecking order in place. This hierarchy is something you have to look closely to see.
In our experience, the RV community is kind of a caste system. You have the “tour bus” motorhome group. These are the ones who have paid several mil for their
rigs and are usually retired couples. We haven’t had
many dealings with this group as we have little to no common ground. They hang out and sometimes travel together and don’t really associate with those of us in the smaller units. That’s not everyone, but we’ve yet to meet ones that do.
The next group owns 5th wheels. 5th wheels are the ones that have a gooseneck that attaches to the bed of their trucks and are pretty large. Some larger units are even pulled with an 18-wheeler truck. This crowd usually hangs with the travel trailer group, but can move between the rock star buses and our group. Most of
the people we’ve met with 5th wheels are full-time or just like to vacation with more space. Most perms we’ve met have been 5th wheelers. You’ll also find most of the toy haulers in this group as well. Toy haulers are the trailers with the huge, full door on the end. This is usually a “garage” space where you can fit your ATVs, golf carts, motorcycles, outdoor equipment, or as we like to call them “big boy toys”. It can also be used as an attached patio. These folks are the cool kids. They have awesome rigs with kitchen islands, more than one bathroom, and room for an entire side of your family redwood tree, yet aren’t showy or elitist. They, more often than not, have kids and generally close up earlier than we do.
The C Class group are the ones that you drive, but have the cab over feature. They’ve always looked like UHaul trucks to me. I actually love them. These people are usually found with us trailer folk and are a combination of retirees and part-timers.
These rigs vary wildly in size. The Super Cs are the coolest rigs.
They are huge and have everything you would ever need, similar to the rock star buses. You don’t see a lot of these around as they are well over of a mil on average. They are always the stars of the RV shows around the country. We don’t know anyone with a Super C and probably won’t ever hang with them. We have little to nothing in common unless one of our group wins the lottery, jumps on that bandwagon, and adopts us.
The smallest group we’ve encountered are the Class Bs or travel vans. These can range anywhere from an upfitted VW bus to a sleek Mercedes Benz chassis van. These aren’t towed and have a smaller footprint. Many come with wet baths which are basically a shower area with sink and toilet. These all get wet when you shower.
I have so many questions about that, but I’ll cover it in another post. Class Bs are easy to take just about anywhere as they aren’t much bigger than a large minivan. They just aren’t usually driven by a soccer mom.
The last two groups I’ll lump together. These are the truck campers and pop ups. This group is serious about actual camping and enjoys being off the grid. These are the harder core ones that don’t need a lot of comforts and enjoy being solitary somewhere they can hike, fish, or see the most amazing view up close.
I wish I were more of a true camper. I envy these people.
Unfortunately, I like my indoor plumbing, electricity, and proper mattress. Sue me, I’m spoiled. I’m also a city girl who is deathly afraid of rattlesnakes, wolves, and things that go roar in the night outside my tent. Baby steps.
We hang with the travel trailer crowd. Those are our people...our tribe. We have cookouts together, drink (a lot) together, and play Cards Against Humanity without anyone getting offended. We’re the stay outside until late, get a little loud, dance and laugh and keep the drinks flowing ones you’ll see at the RV parks. Come on over. We’ve never met a stranger.
There is one other group that we haven’t touched on. They don’t travel anymore. These are often the ones that we trailer people annoy the most…the perms. The perms, or annuals, are the ones you see with gardens and decks attached to their campers. We’ve invaded their neighborhood and as long as we turn the party down at a reasonable hour, we can stay mostly on their good sides. We’ve encountered many perms and most just wave and keep walking as they know we’ll be gone soon enough and another crop of temps will take our place. There are perms in most RV parks and they never leave. Most don’t even own a vehicle that will pull their unit anymore. The only thing about perms is that you don’t want to be surrounded by them and assigned to a lot in “perm alley”. If you’re that unlucky, you better keep it down after 7 so they can hear Wheel of Fortune.
Overall, we’ve really clicked with the RVers we’ve met. Except for those prominently displaying upside-down pineapples, flamingos, or loofahs on their rigs. If you know, you know. Nope. We'll let you figure that one out on your own.